The Ethiopian Embassy to France recently held a joint webinar with coffee investors with the aim of promoting the coffee industry as a lucrative investment avenue for foreign investors. The webinar was attended by 53 participants from leading entities within the global coffee industry.
Tsion Teklu, Ethiopia’s State Minister of Foreign Affairs, highlighted Ethiopia’s brand, ‘The Land of Origins’, a celebration of the nation as the cradle of humanity and Arabica Coffee. She recognized this status as one that is significantly embodied in Ethiopia’s coffee industry and the reputation it has garnered at an international level.
Despite this reputation, however, participants of the webinar also recognized that there is an enormous amount to be done to efficiently capitalize on the potential of the country’s coffee industry. Participants identified agricultural practices, lack of agricultural technology, natural disasters, and inefficient bureaucratic structures as some of the factors maligning the growth and development of the industry.
Tsion also affirmed the Ethiopian government’s willingness and readiness to collaborate with the private sector to better leverage the resources available to the industry and enhance both manufacturing and trade.
Ethiopian Ambassador to France Henok Teferra echoed similar sentiments and affirmed his office’s readiness to facilitate direct trade between exporters and importers. Currently the bulk of the coffee trade that Ethiopia engages in goes through both logistic and diplomatic intermediaries.